Indigenous youth mental health failure in N.B. [Video]

The New Brunswick government has done little to nothing on recommendations to improve the health of First Nations youth, according to the province’s child, youth and seniors’ advocate.

In an update Monday, Kelly Lamrock says “there has not been a lot of progress” on the 2021 report “No Child Left Behind.”

The report from three years ago recommends a nation-to-nation review of gaps in Indigenous youth mental health services, as well as transparency on the province’s spending for First Nations youth mental health.

The report’s 13 recommendations are categorized into 20 monitorable recommendations, with eight found to be “somewhat implemented” and 12 having “no action taken.”

“The crisis is real and the response at this point, to be blunt, has been profoundly underwhelming,” says Lamrock. “At some point one either accepts that we need a distinct process to deal with the crisis in First Nations communities or we do not, and that dividing line I think really animates the report. My submission respectfully …